Blowing Fuses

[Guest tmurray@clevelandcable.com]

MY B2 KEEPS BLOWING 20 AMP FUSES ON IGNITION CIRCUIT.HAVE CHECKED WIRING AND EVERYTHING LOOKS OK,ANYBODY GOT ANY IDEAS?

[Guest Ant]

MY B2 KEEPS BLOWING 20 AMP FUSES ON IGNITION CIRCUIT.HAVE CHECKED WIRING AND EVERYTHING LOOKS OK,ANYBODY GOT ANY IDEAS?

Sounds like you need to be quite systematic in working your way through things. Something must be shorting the circuit to earth - either through a faulty component, or through a wire chaffing on the chassis or panels.

 

First off, what loom have you got, and what engine setup is it? What column switches etc have you got? Also, exactly which fuse is it which is blowing? Does it blow as soon as you replace it, or only when you turn the ignition or something else on?

 

Hopefully we can help you to locate it

 

Ant

[Guest tmurray@clevelandcable.com]

I HAVE THE V.G. LOOM,1600 PINTO,84 SIERRA SWITCHES ETC AND ITS THE 20AMP FUSE THAT HAS 1XWHITE GOING TO 3XGREEN WIRES.FUSE BLOWS AS SOON AS YOU GIVE IGNITION ITS FIRST CLICK(BEFORE STARTER MOTOR CLICKS IN)IVE DISCONNECTED ALL SWITCHES AND LEFT ONLY THE IGNITION CONNECTED AND STILL THEY BLOW.ANY IDEAS,IVE USED 35 20AMP FUSES AND MY SUPPLIER HAS NO STOCK LEFT

[Longboarder]

You clearly have a short and can't afford to blow another 100 fuses hunting for it. So make up leads to a head lamp bulb (60 watts) and bulb holder and interupt and insert this in the circuit immediately after the ignition switch. You should now be able to switch on, the bulb will light brightly as its running to earth through the short and the fuses won't blow.(unless the short is in the ignition switch in which case the fuse just blows again. You don't say wether the fuse is before or after the ign switch) You can then get on with disconnecting stuff in a sequential/logical/random/?desperate sequence till the light goes dim and you have found a short. If you have two or more shorts (?a pair of shorts ) correct the short in the last thing disconnected and repeat the process. You should be able to work through till the lamp is only dimly lit with nothing disconnected and you're cured.

[Guest Ant]

I know absolutely nothing about the VG loom so I can't really help much further.

 

I like longboarders solution to prevent you continually blowing fuses. Presumable there's no need to actually break into the wires, wouldn't it work just as well by putting the bulb across the terminals instead of the fuse?

 

The only other advice is to be systematic. Change one thing at a time. Get the wiring diagrams out and tick off sections of loom and various components as you eliminate them. Keep track of what you're doing so you can always repeat the last step to prove your conclusions.

 

Good luck!

 

Ant

[Guest salty_monk]

You could just drive round with the light on the whole time...

Put it in the footwell & make it one of those "blue" type bulbs, then you can go out competing with all the Gary's/Kev's (sorry no offence meant) with their led washers!

 

No need to findthe short, job done!!

[Longboarder]

Ant, I was going to suggest that as an alternative but the post was getting a bit long and the tails on the ign switch already end in a terminal after about six inches.

 

Nigel

[Guest tmurray@clevelandcable.com]

Thanks guys worked a treat,rigged up a tester using an old spot lamp and found fault.It was a wire from ignition module running to earth.Then plugged in my inst cluster randomly as none of my wires matched the V.G loom and almost collapsed,everything worked without exception! Thought this must be my lucky day so bought 10 lucky dips on my way home,sadly im back at work but over the moon ive sorted it.Cheers again.

[Guest Kev Newborough]

"then you can go out competing with all the Gary's/Kev's"

 

Oi watch it Monkey Salt. Kev.

 

ps does anyone know where I can get some fluffy dice.